aw71 help

hey guys so im abit stumped I recently got a new aw71 to replace my blown aw71.

the aw71 I got came with a converter.
the converter is substantially larger than my old one.

I've tried researching online and information is all over the place.

from what I've read the larger converter is a lock up converter but there's no confirmation of that

the new aw71 has a tag and says aw71 not aw71L

I've read mixed things

some people say the lock up converter snout is physically larger and will not fit into a aw71

other say it will fit but won't work at all

and others say it will fit and work fine but won't lock up cause internally the box isn't a lock up box.

so I have no idea what to believe is true haha


the converter fits into the box fine and everything bolted up no issues at all the box is in the car ready to be started tomorrow so I guess we will see what happens but I'm hopeful someone could shed some more light on what's going on, whether it is or isn't a lock up converter and whether or not it will work.

it is the converter that came in the box and everything points to it being fine but I really don't know.

That is an AW-71L in the top picture. The tip off is one screen in the bellhousing vs. 2 screens on the rest of the AW-70/71s. If you are saying you are running the transmission just as it is pictured above, you will be fine.

To clarify what I said, the tag on the transmission you bought is not correct. You have an AW-71L.

2manyturbos said:

That is an AW-71L in the top picture. The tip off is one screen in the bellhousing vs. 2 screens on the rest of the AW-70/71s. If you are saying you are running the transmission just as it is pictured above, you will be fine.

To clarify what I said, the tag on the transmission you bought is not correct. You have an AW-71L.

Click to expand...

I did read that 1 screen was a give away that its a aw71L.
the box is in the car and running fine.

I've never had a lock up box so not sure how it feels when locking up but it feels excatly the same as my old aw71, hwy rpms are the same etc

It’s almost undetectable when it locks up. You should see about a 200 RPM drop when you’re at a cruising speed of 65 mph.

OK sweet I'll pay more attention and see if I can notice it haha

It is really subtle and if the kick down cable is too tight it won’t go into lock up. That’s the first step the transmission drops out of when the kick down cable tightens up.

2manyturbos said:

It?s almost undetectable when it locks up. You should see about a 200 RPM drop when you?re at a cruising speed of 65 mph.

Click to expand...

The lockup in my '94 940 is always like clockwork at exactly 45mph if I'm in overdrive. And its noticeable to me, almost like having a 5th gear. Its not an abrupt shift but since the cars kinda loudish you can def hear the RPMs drop clearly. I'll also add that ANYTIME you are above 45mph and it shifts from 3rd to OD it basically locks immediately, skipping the unlocked OD. I remember being told years ago by someone (maybe Kenny) that everything that i just described is how its supposed to work.

If others AW71L's perform differently I'm not saying anyone is wrong or their car is broken, of course. Just wanted to share my experience with this AW71L the last 10 years since the topic was being discussed.

2manyturbos said:

That is an AW-71L in the top picture. The tip off is one screen in the bellhousing vs. 2 screens on the rest of the AW-70/71s. If you are saying you are running the transmission just as it is pictured above, you will be fine.

To clarify what I said, the tag on the transmission you bought is not correct. You have an AW-71L.

Click to expand...

In the photo it appears there is another square shaped hole.

Do you know the function of the second hole(I have an aw71 that can take the place of a failing aw70) ?

Otto Mattik said:

In the photo it appears there is another square shaped hole.

Do you know the function of the second hole(I have an aw71 that can take the place of a failing aw70) ?

Click to expand...

There is only one screen in the AW-71L in the picture above. The AW-71 in the above pic has 2. An AW-71 will go right in place of an AW-70.

2manyturbos said:

There is only one screen in the AW-71L in the picture above. The AW-71 in the above pic has 2. An AW-71 will go right in place of an AW-70.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the clarification !